A recent report indicates that an estimated 2.1 million jobs in Minnesota in 2018 will require some postsecondary training beyond high school—7 percent above the national average.
Minnesota ranked fifth among all states in terms of the proportion of its 2018 jobs that will require a bachelor’s degree. It ranked 48th in its number of jobs available to high school dropouts.
According to a report released Tuesday by the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce, 70 percent of all jobs in Minnesota in 2018—an estimated 2.1 million jobs—will require some postsecondary education or training. That is 7 percent above the national average of 63 percent.
The report, “Help Wanted: Protecting Jobs and Education Requirements through 2018,” found a growing disconnect between the number of available jobs and Americans who have the necessary education to fill them. Employers will need 22 million new workers with postsecondary degrees by 2018. Without a “dramatic change in course,” the country will fall short by 3 million workers, the report said.
By 2018, 63 percent of jobs in the United States will require some postsecondary education, the report said.
"America needs more workers with college degrees, certificates, and industry certifications," Anthony Carnevale, the Georgetown Center's director, said in a statement. "If we don't address this need now, millions of jobs could go offshore."
New jobs in Minnesota that require postsecondary education and training will increase by 152,000 between 2008 and 2018. Jobs for high school graduates and dropouts will increase by only 28,000.
Between 2008 and 2018, Minnesota will create 902,000 job vacancies through new jobs and openings due to retirement, the report said. An estimated 620,000 of the vacancies will require postsecondary credentials.
The fastest-growing industries will require the highest levels of education, with the exception of sales support and health care support. In 2018, 75 percent to 90 percent of jobs in these industries will require postsecondary education or training: information services, private education, government and public education, financial services, professional and business services, and health care. These industries are expected to comprise 40 percent of all jobs in 2018.
"Instead of asking whether everyone needs to go to college, we should be asking if we can produce enough workers with high-level degrees and credentials that meet the demands of the 21st-century economy," Jamie Merisotis, president and CEO of the Indianapolis-based Lumina Foundation for Education, which supported the research, said in a statement.
—Jake Anderson
(janderson@tcbmag.com)